Crony-Capitalism is A Great Way to Kill a Gun Company

[copterdoctor]

http://finance.townhall.com/columni...is-a-great-way-to-kill-a-gun-company-n1863635

 

[Lcstyle]

that's a real shame.

 

[Jason Flare]

Good read.

 

[Reptile]

It may be cool to own the same type of AR that the military uses but...

For a little more money, there are AR's that are BETTER than what is made by the lowest bidder.

 

[mpkeelee]

Wonder what getting into the civilian market more would do. Think about the sales if new Colt 1911's were in your LGS

 

[crazymjb]

I always thought it strange that colt never really seemed to be doing jack shit with the civilian market.

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...

 

[Rate_of_Twist]

Meh, whatever.... the collectors will love it. Their prized ponies will be worth even more. To the rest of the gun buying public, would you even know colt was gone?

 

[DarrenL]

Can I get a delta elite cheap in a going out of business sale?

 

[Gak44]

Looks like they deserve to go out of business.

 

[not new guy]

Looks like they deserve to go out of business.

Yup. I like their products, but would be happy to see them die out if this is their business model.

 

[mattyw]

looks like poor leadership doomed them, not crony-capitalism. They could have easily done the government contract thing AND tried to appeal to the rest of us, they chose not to

 

[exo]

It may be cool to own the same type of AR that the military uses but...

For a little more money, there are AR's that are BETTER than what is made by the lowest bidder.

I thought FN had the current M4 & etc. contract?

 

[Zappa]

Wonder what getting into the civilian market more would do. Think about the sales if new Colt 1911's were in your LGS

New Colt 1911's are available in gun shops, just not in Massachusetts gun shops.

Here are their current offerings:

http://www.colt.com/Catalog/Pistols.aspx

However, their prices are on the high end of the scale and there are dozens of other competitors making 1911's for less.

 

[Boris]

looks like poor leadership doomed them, not crony-capitalism. They could have easily done the government contract thing AND tried to appeal to the rest of us, they chose not to

pretty much, another exec trying to run a company and knowing shit about the market. I bet his golden parachute opened wide and a little later he is running another company into the ground.

.gov is a lucrative market, probably the most profitable of all ... if you can keep those contracts coming. That's the hard part, not making quality guns.

 

[xtry51]

I won't miss Colt any more than I would miss GM or Chrysler.

 

[Dadstoys]

I won't miss Colt any more than I would miss GM or Chrysler.

The guns I'll miss.
Maybe someone without head entrenched in ass will buy it.
How could you fail if you started putting Python's , Anaconda's , Lawmen, and even the Woodsman back on shelves?
Provided they were of the same quality as the old ones.

 

[dlarge]

New Colt 1911's are available in gun shops, just not in Massachusetts gun shops.

Here are their current offerings:

http://www.colt.com/Catalog/Pistols.aspx

However, their prices are on the high end of the scale and there are dozens of other competitors making 1911's for less.

Not only that, but none of the gun shops I have been to are "promoting" Colt. The first cases I run into are Sig, Ruger, and Springfield (generally). Gotta go searching for Colt's offerings.

 

[Rate_of_Twist]

How could you fail if you started putting Python's , Anaconda's , Lawmen, and even the Woodsman back on shelves?
Provided they were of the same quality as the old ones.

You dont need an overly skilled ( i.e. expensive ) work force to product garbage for high dollar value .gov contracts...

You do need not only a skilled work force to produce the firearms you just mentioned, but also marketing, warranty dept,customer service, streamlined distribution ect ect.... All of these things require dedicated and competent ownership/management (see where im going with this?)

 

[EddieCoyle]

How could you fail if you started putting Python's , Anaconda's , Lawmen, and even the Woodsman back on shelves?
Provided they were of the same quality as the old ones.

Easy... Make those guns and expect people to pay for them. You've got to figure that a new Python would cost $3K. Colt no longer has the machinery nor the skilled workforce to make those guns. They'd never recoup the investment if they tried to spin up the manufacture of those products again.

Especially with the competition they face now.

 

[StacheMan]

Can I get a delta elite cheap in a going out of business sale?

Seconded.

 

[Lank]

I agree, good read, but object to the use of the phrase "Federal" Government. It must read "National".

 

[FalArAk]

It may be cool to own the same type of AR that the military uses but...

For a little more money, there are AR's that are BETTER than what is made by the lowest bidder.

Yes

 

[Dadstoys]

You dont need an overly skilled ( i.e. expensive ) work force to product garbage for high dollar value .gov contracts...

You do need not only a skilled work force to produce the firearms you just mentioned, but also marketing, warranty dept,customer service, streamlined distribution ect ect.... All of these things require dedicated and competent ownership/management (see where im going with this?)

I do

 

[Dadstoys]

Easy... Make those guns and expect people to pay for them. You've got to figure that a new Python would cost $3K. Colt no longer has the machinery nor the skilled workforce to make those guns. They'd never recoup the investment if they tried to spin up the manufacture of those products again.

Especially with the competition they face now.

Yup , short sightedness at work.
Someone figured the govt. teat would be there forever.
It's a shame they let it all go.

 

[noddaduma]

Wonder what getting into the civilian market more would do. Think about the sales if new Colt 1911's were in your LGS

It'd be one more overpriced alternative for people who want to throw money away on a label.

 

[Mr.E]

Yup , short sightedness at work.
Someone figured the govt. teat would be there forever.
It's a shame they let it all go.

Forever, probably not. These people at the top generally aren't stupid, many are just greedy and selfish. They wanted the contracts to last long enough for them to cash in, and then cash out, that's it. They couldn't care less if the company was standing afterwards..
I really didn't know all that about Colt, quite interesting.

 

[mpkeelee]

New Colt 1911's are available in gun shops, just not in Massachusetts gun shops

Yes, I know. I meant their sales would probably increase if they were realistically priced and available in shitty states like Ma.

 

[exo]

Yes, I know. I meant their sales would probably increase if they were realistically priced and available in shitty states like Ma.

The realistically priced I'd agree with you... but the market in MA is absurdly small. CA, with all it's absurdity, has a significantly sized gun owner population and therefore many manufacturers have been willing to jump through the hoops to get their guns on sale. Of course, not sure what's going on there now what with the microstamping BS.